


Cobblestone Walls

by gaypasta



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-04-03 04:02:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4085914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaypasta/pseuds/gaypasta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan just wants to finish this essay, not get stuck in a library thanks to a snow storm</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Who wants the D? Dan wants the D

Snowed in at the library.

A snowstorm in the middle of January. How typical. Forget a white Christmas, that isn't going to happen, but don't be upset, you can always have a white Martin Luther King Day, how ironic.  
Dan sighed bitterly as he curled into his coat as a gust of icy wind sent torrents of snow into his wake. Dan continued to slump through the snow, walking grudgingly through the University Campus, keeping his hooded head down to avoid his delicate face being assaulted by the snow and wind. The campus was practically empty, everyone else having had the sense to not be milling around in -5° weather, which was rather unusual, considering most people would be rather keen to let themselves get frostbite and freeze to death than be stuck inside the student dorms writing the final drafts for their essays, trapped in the pasty yellow walls of the pitifully small rooms.

Dan had made, in his opinion, the better choice. After taking up countless mind-numbing part time jobs which had probably earned him more cripplingly embarrassing moments than money, he had saved up enough to rent out a cheap flat just a 30minute walk from the University campus. Aside from the constant smell of various drugs and piss coming from the barren halls and the girl with bright green hair who sometimes forgets to wear a shirt, Dan had got a pretty good deal, he was fairly content with his cluttered flat. 

Until today.

Dan had woke up with penguins nesting in his bed and Eskimos in his kitchen, or at least he may as well have considering the heating for the apartment complex had decided to take its unpaid vacation leave in the middle of one of Britain's worst snow storms in 20 years. 

He was planning to spend the day studying in the comfort of his flat, books and notes oceaned out over the grungy carpet and slowly decaying coffee table with countless mugs of Tesco's finest instant coffee, but of course everything in the Universe decided Dan shouldn't get a Law degree or a career in Law or a love life or a reason to live at all in the Arctic conditions of his flat. 

Dan tugged grumpily on his book-bag as it attempted to end its dismal life by throwing itself onto the iced cobblestone pathway. Not that Dan blamed it, but the heaviness of all his books alongside his laptop and charger on his right side was starting to hurt. Dan rolled his shoulders and adjusted the bag to weigh onto his left side, his fingers felt painfully numb against the taunt straps and he tried not to give into the temptation to hurl his bag at a tree and lay in the snow until either a wondering student found him or his bitter existence ended.

Dan looked up from his hood and scanned the endless void of snow and eventual hypothermia in front of him. There it is, the library. After spending almost double the time walking through two feet of snow, Dan could finally sit down and let himself dry off, all over the plush chairs and onto the floor. 

He picked up his pace towards the large set of sturdy wooden doors. Maybe he should've brought a towel, he contemplated the thought and ran his hand through his damp and, oh god, curly hair. A pair of GHDs wouldn't hurt either. Dan groaned internally and brought himself to a slight jog to reach the warm sanctuary of the ancient cobble building.

Dan twisted the handle, which sent mild pain from his worryingly numb hands to his core, maybe he'll need them amputated, they did seem to have a light blue tint similar to the colour of the cheese he'd found in his fridge the first day he moved in. Dan grunted with effort as he tried to open the stiff door. Surely it wasn't locked? Please God don't let it be locked.  
The tall boy started to thrust his weight against the door in hope it would grant him access. The dull thuds from the wood barely being audible under the howling wind.

“For the love of fuck just open the fuck up, please!” Dan grunted as his body continued to collide with the creaking wood. He continued to throw his body with increasing frustration and desperation against the door whilst consciously scanning the grounds for anyone who might see him make a fool of himself. 

“Are you fucking kidding me I walked all this wa-FUCK” Dan yelped as he crashed through the doors and collided with the hard wooden panels of the floor. He felt himself flushing red, both from embarrassment and from the rush of heat that surrounded him as soon as he unceremoniously entered the library. 

Dan quickly picked himself off the ground and snapped his head to look around the room and see how many sniggering faces he'd see. Which was a surprisingly low count of none. The soaked boy sighed with relief and visually relaxed, wincing slightly as he relaxed his shoulders. Dan walked to the back of the main room slowly, his heart filling up with unease and tension as he approached the area where the only free sockets were.

Empty library? Snowstorm? Dan reasoned he might as well slice his own throat to save the serial killer the effort. But then again, graded essays come before the risk of losing his life. Dan sighed heavily as he set his damp bag onto the thick wooden table, which was adorned with arts from the ages. Dan traced a particular carving with his hand, admiring the delicacy of the art. It was obvious whoever constructed such a magnificent piece was naturally gifted, as the some strokes of the carving were obviously quick and precise, others slow and intricate. Dan removed his hand and glanced at the name, mentally applauding “big cock chris” for his artwork of the male genitalia. 

Dan rolled his eyes, boys never do mature. He pulled off his soaked coat which clung to him in many, many ways – none of which were desirable – and slung it over a nearby radiator. He moved uncomfortably as his skinny jeans clung to him and vastly restricted his movements. Dan was glad the library was empty as his socks made soft squelching sounds when he walked back to his bag. He grabbed his laptop charger and plugged it into a nearby socket and started up his laptop. He deserved at least 30 minutes of scrolling tumblr on frustratingly slow Wi-Fi for the trouble of even getting into the glorified reading corner. 

Dan waited for his Macbook to start up, he's thankful that it even works after being practically dragged through a hurricane, so he takes the time to pop his joints and stretch his legs under the table. An embarrassingly girly squeak of fear left his mouth when something collided with his leg. A even more embarrassing yelp escaped him when the 'something' yelped back.

Dan jerked backwards unnaturally fast, throwing himself off the chair in the process and into a shocked, damp, squeaking bundle of limbs. Dan quickly rehabilitated himself and moved his curling fringe from his eyes to scan under the desk. His eyes filled with shock when a groggy and confused pair of blue eyes glared back at him.  
Dan felt his heart pound in his ear from fear. He just kicked a guy and he's gonna get beaten up. Maybe this is the serial killer he was worried about. Oh God he's gonna die in a library. Of all the people Dan could've kicked he had to kick someone who looked broad enough to snap his neck with an icy glare that could make a dragon freeze in its tracks.

“Oh God I'm so sorry, I had no idea you were under there, uh-” Dan nervously sat up and fixed his jacket back up onto his shoulder. “Are you ok? Did I hurt you? I'm really sorry.” 

The man turned away from Dan and pushed out the seat opposite Dan's own to crawl out from under the table. Dan's heart was beating so fast he could hear the thudding sound ricocheting off the tall walls. He couldn't run without his laptop and books- he couldn't hide from the man. There was nothing else he could do but stand there and take whatever beatings the man decided he was worthy to receive. 

The unnaturally black-haired man, surprisingly, didn't leave his place from under the desk. He crawled out slightly to grapple at the chair seat, only to shuffle back under with a small backpack of his own in his hand. He never stopped glaring, and Dan wasn't going to lie, he was confused but far too intimidated to question this stranger. The man searched inside his nebula-patterned backpack for a few moments before making a gravelly grunt of approval as he perched a pair of glasses onto his face and pushed the backpack back towards his chair, leaving it underneath it rather than placed on top of it.

Dan's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. What kind of serial killer wears glasses? What kind of serial killer keeps glasses in a nebula backpack? Dan gulped as the man continued to stare at him, and calmed slightly as his glare relaxed into a less intimidating look.  
“Sorry I scared you.” The man's voice was gravelly and Dan could hear a soft Northern droll from the man's words. 

“Uh, sorry I kicked you?” Dan tested, raising one eyebrow. Dan was still sitting on the floor, and the man had made no effort to leave from under the table. This was certainty a much more interesting, albeit frightening spread of events than writing a 10,000 word essay on an uncomfortable sofa.

The man didn't reply, responding with a loud yawn, which he was polite enough to cover with his right hand. Dan eased slightly, he was well-mannered at least.  
“If you don't mind me asking, why are you under a table?” 

The man's gaze lazily met Dan's before giving Dan a total once-over. Dan felt uneasy under his critical gaze at first, but figured he was too blind to get a chance to once-over Dan before his glasses.  
“I was having a little nap.” The man concluded, before a small croaky laugh bubbled from him. “I guess it's probably a good thing you woke me up, I should be researching for my thesis. So thanks for kicking me awake.”

Dan felt his face heat up and buried his face in his hands. “Oh God I'm really sorry.” He sat there for a few moments, not wanting to look at the man directly in the face ever again. He chanced a small peek whenever he heard some shuffling. The man was crawling out from under the desk and sitting about 3 feet away from him, stretching his arms and waking himself up. Dan slowly brought his hands down from his face and opted to fiddle with zip on his jacket.

“I'm Phil.” Dan looked up, the man was smiling at him softly, his sleepiness still very apparent in the way his eyes drooped slightly and his limbs had some trouble functioning. Dan always awarded himself with being a fairly good judge of character, he called it when his best friend Cat's boyfriend was sleeping with other girls behind her back. He was modest too, and stayed up all night with her while she cried to him and shouted down the phone whenever he said something wrong. Dan understood though, well – not really – but Dan knew she was angry and upset. She had every right to yell and scream and cry until 3am, and it was Dan's right as a best friend to listen to her do so.  
Dan also called it when his brother came home with a petite girl with big brown eyes and a button nose and a small smile. He never told his brother he called it when he overheard the rumours at school at how his little brother had wrote a girl's entire biology coursework in favour of his own and got a failing grade. He never told his brother he called it when he whispered to him it was okay to fail a GCSE over his parent's screeching disappointment and astonishment.

Yes, Dan was a great judge of character, but just this one time he thinks his initial judgement was way off.

“I'm Dan Howell. What do you study?”  
The boy's eyes lit up and the tiredness left his eyes as his face lit up. “I'm studying Marine Biology! I really, really love the ocean and I just think it's so cool how we know so, so, so much but we've only explored about 5% of it. Like we've discovered giant squid and angler fish and loads of really ugly things like the fish that looks like someone melted Mr.Blobby, but- oh sorry.” He chuckled, not seeming ashamed or that embarrassed “I just get carried away sometimes.”

Dan smiled, but quickly turned it into a smirk. “Is that why you literally passed out instead of researching your one true passion?” 

Phil looked surprised, before laughing, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth for a second. “Actually shut up, I was just really tired. The coffee place near my flat closed for the day, so I didn't get my daily coffee and bagel, and besides, my one true passion isn't the ocean.” 

Dan rested his chin on his knee and raised an eyebrow. “What is it then, Phil?” He wasn't sure if he was humouring the boy or genuinely interested.

Phil paused, his bright face falling into one of concentration. He bit his lip and looked up to the ceiling for a few moments. Dan really hoped he hadn't thrown himself into the deep end, he really didn't want a whole philosophical monologue about the meaning of life and what it truly means to be happy, he could've heard that without leaving his poor excuse for a home.

“I think it would have to be,” Phil paused for a bit before dragging his gaze from the ceiling to Dan's eyes. “your mum.” 

Dan chortled and lightly kicked Phil's leg the foot that wasn't supporting his head. “Aren't we meant to be doing work that will benefit our future?” 

Phil shrugged and stood up, popping his back. “Yeah, we should. This is funner though.”

Dan was confused, he supported himself on his palms as he leaned slightly further backwards on the floor. “We're not doing anything.” He pointed out.

The other man smiled and raised his eyebrows “Yeah but we're talking! We're having fun and that's a lot better than doing work, isn't it?” Phil grabbed his bag and lifted out a colourful wallet, and Dan suspected he could see googly eyes stuck to it. It suited Phil, he seemed like a colourful person. “I actually do have to start researching though. Total yawn-fest!” Dan rolled his eyes at the disregard for the English language. “I need to get some coffee though before I actually just fall asleep on you.” 

Dan opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Now that Phil had stood up, he realized how long his legs were, he has to be about 70% leg.

“Starbucks is only about 5 minutes away so, if you look after my stuff I can buy you something? I kind of can't bring my laptop out until the storm lets up, my bag's not waterproof at all.” And sure enough, Dan looked over to the geek-fest of a bag and the material was thin and honestly a pair of dirty pants would do a better job at keeping a laptop dry than that.

Dan hummed. He gets a free drink in exchange for staying in a warm building in peace and quiet? Seems fair.  
“Sure, I'll have a caramel macciato if you really don't mind.” Dan smiled at him, what kind of person buys someone who literally kicked them awake from a nap a drink? Phi really was something else. He didn't really seem naive or like he wanted something. He just seemed genuinely kind. The thought made Dan inexplicably happy, not many people were kind for the sake of being kind, or at least not many people he'd met.

“Hey, that's the same as I get! Maybe we've got a mind meld or something.” Phil exclaimed before walking over and touching Dan's head and making 'mild melding' motion, which looked more like an interpretive dance if Dan were to be completely honest. Dan laughed and moved to get up.

Phil offered his hand. Of course he did. Dan took it sceptically and found himself being gently, but steadily being lifted from the floor with Phil's help. His hand awkwardly rested in Phil's for a few moments, before Dan blushed and moved to sit down at his laptop, which was now in sleep mode.

Phil stifled a small cough with the same hand and swerved between tables to the door, avoiding meeting Dan's eyes. If you asked if Dan watched Phil's back as he walked away, he would have lied.

Dan shook his head, shaking away Phil's back from his vision and focused on his laptop. He typed in his password 3 times before he got it right. The cold must have really got to him. His cursor was shaking as he searched through his documents of notes and powerpoint slides, searching for ones that would help him, maybe he needed this cup of coffee more than he thought. He opened up the wrong document, his hand twitched as he heard Phil shout his name from about 30 feet away. 

He stared in shock as Phil came bounding towards him, with a mix of fear and excitement on his face. “Dan! Look, come here, come here!” Phil rushed as he grabbed Dan's forearm and dragged him through the maze of tables into the front of the room, exposing them from their surroundings of bookshelves, completely disregarding Dan's inability to be nimble while being dragged as Dan clipped his hips and thighs on the edges of chairs and tables.

“Phil what are we- ow! Shit Phil you're not exactly-” 

“Look Dan!” Phil exclaimed, pointing to the large fogged-up window. Dan squinted at it for a moment before it hit him.

“Phil that has to be at least 3 and a half feet.” Dan gawked.

“It's like we're in Narnia!” Phil practically hopped on the spot, continuing to hold Dan's forearm and tugging on it excitedly. 

“Phil, we can't get out. We're trapped.” Phil stopped jumping and looked at his new found friend. 

“Oh.”

Dan put his face in his hands and groaned loudly. 

“At least we'll get lots of work done?” Phil offered.

Dan groaned louder.

“At least we're stuck inside and not outside?” 

Dan groaned continuously for about 20 seconds before lifting his head from his hands and blinking at Phil.

“C'mon Dan, let's go get some work done while the storm settles.” Phil pushed gently, guiding Dan back to their table with substantially less injuries. Dan felt his back heat up, so he slipped out of his jacket and left his arms bare before sitting down opposite Phil's laptop and closing the file and opening the right one. 

After a couple of minutes of Dan opening and reading paragraphs from several textbooks and stifling through a couple of file-pads for notes, highlighting certain definitions and key words he knew he'd need to include in order to even hope of doing well, Phil broke the silence.  
“I didn't take you as a gym-kind of guy.” Dan's gaze slowly lifted from the sentence he wanted to finish reading before meeting Phil's gentle gaze. Dan knew it wasn't an accusation or meant to be hurtful, it was simply a comment. Phil wasn't the kind to quickly judge, he could tell that much.

“I'm not, why? Are you telling me I stink of B.O?” Dan quipped lightly, a small smile lingering on his face. His cheeks hurt a little, he didn't realize he smiled that much within the hour they were together.

“No! You just have really nice arms.” Phil assured, before his arms started acting along with his words. “Not that I was looking, well I saw them and I just noticed- I wasn't staring at your arms- I'm not like, creeping on you or anything- not that I wouldn't want to I mean you're very pretty!” Phil rushed.

Dan stared at him for a few seconds, partly in awe that any human could mess up a sentence that much and partly to attempt to decipher what Phil said through his fast tongue.  
“I don't have an arm fetish, Dan!” Phil exclaimed finally and smacked his hand on the table .  
Dan threw his head back in laughter and clapped his hands. He was thankful no one else was here to get annoyed by his loud laughter, but Dan had never met anyone who handled conversation as badly as Phil aside from himself and it was the funniest thing in the world to experience. 

“Dan it's not funny!” Phil defended himself, though Dan heard him smile through his voice.  
It took Dan several minutes to stop laughing, every time he stopped he'd look at Phil sitting with his arms folded with a pout on his face and be thrown straight back into the depths of belly-laughter.

With tears in his eyes Dan finally managed to form an almost-sentence. “Oh, Phil,”  
Phil responded by sticking his tongue out.  
“Y-you're like a child. I'm going to call you pouty face.” Dan laughed, less boisterous than he had previously. 

Phil's mouth fell open in shock. “Dan that's not even good! I'm going to call you pretty-boy then, see how you like it!”  
Dan's laughter quietened quickly. Pretty-boy? No one's ever called Dan pretty before. He did have an annoyingly baby-like face, and by the stage of work Phil's doing, he knew Phil was older than him by at least two years. He was probably just poking fun at his childishness, what 18 year old laughs themselves to tears over someone saying 'arm fetish'? 

“Anyone in there?” Phil's voice made Dan look up from the keyboard, which he must've been staring at during his thoughts.

“Are you making fun of me?” When he was met with silence, he looked up to see Phil's quizzical face. “By calling me pretty-boy?”

Phil nodded in understanding. “No, you're pretty, and you're a boy. Well you're 18 or 19, so technically a man, but pretty-man sounds a bit weird.”

Dan gawked at Phil for a few seconds, before a small smile found its way onto Dan's face.  
“I'm 18. My birthday's in June.” Dan said simply, before returning to type out his introduction.

Phil watched him for a few moments, admiring the younger's concentration face. “I'm 20. My birthday's in 10 days.” Phil didn't expect a response, and nor did he receive one, he saw Dan nod his head in acknowledgement to show Phil he was listening.

Dan certainty didn't expect to see a new document in his air-drop titled “TOP SECRET INFORMATION.” Dan rolled his eyes and opened it. 

Dan definitely didn't expect to see the contents.

_“coffee this weekend? ^-^ <3_

_07789975798 – Philip Michael Lester – 14 Albert Road, Levenshulme”_

Dan smirked

_To  
Phil ^-^_

_only if you keep your promise to pay :)_


	2. Things are happenin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan distresses via text message, sees a pair of boobs, and seeks therapy in Phil's humble abode.

 

Dan didn't care for small animals, don't get him wrong, he loves dogs and cats and all, but guinea pigs and hamsters weren't exactly on the top of his list for desirable pets. However, in this moment in time, with the alinement of the stars being perfect and Mars being in the absolute perfect astrological position, Dan wished with every fibre in his measly body that he was a hamster so he could roll up into this Starbucks in a hamster ball and annihilate every pampered and perfumed over-egotistical dead-eyed hipster in this bitch and get his fucking coffee.

 

Sure, maybe he was being grouchy and maybe he was overreacting when he crossed his arms over his grey jumper and impatiently tapped his foot at the boy with a choppy and unsubtle self-done hair cut who was whistling a Christmas song, specifically the chorus on repeat. The sharp noise cut through Dan, and every time his whistling broke tune Dan gripped his arms even tighter and breathed heavily out his nose. Dan wished his immune system was weaker and he had gotten the cold which was rapidly spreading across already brain-clogged students, then hopefully he could sneeze on this guy and his throat would burn too much to so much as burp never mind whistle Slade in the middle of a packed Starbucks at 4pm.

 

The lined moved forward as a short man with a head of hair left the establishment. Literally a head of hair. Where was his face? Dan knew everyone's struggling to get bank statements to balance up but surely you can scrape together enough money for a £7 trim? Or at least a pair of scissors from Poundland? Maybe Dan was just too focused on hair. He self-consciously patted his fringe into place. Maybe he was due a hair cut too in a few weeks.

 

Dan sighed and looked around at the many colourful patrons around the store. He noticed two people from his Law classes sitting on a couch, drinking and laughing with a couple other people. He looked over them and tried not to be creepy by staring at them trying to remember the name of the wild curly-haired girl and the girl with shockingly red hair. He bit his lip trying to remember. He could just pull out his phone and check on Facebook, he was certain he'd added the girl with sandy blonde hair on Facebook after she'd dominated the stage on a karaoke night someone had pulled that Dan had forced himself to attend.

 

Not that he remembered much about that night. One of the boys who threw the “obligatory get-to-know-your-dormmates” party had noticed Dan sitting on one of the cushioned seats in the cramped pub and generously bought him some 'liquid courage'. The only courage it gave him was courage to bring his face to his new germ-ridden toilet to violently dispose of the night's mistakes. Dan wasn't a party man, nor a hard liquor man. He preferred sweet drinks with only a slight burning on his tongue from the alcohol, not the liquid fire that the boy had bought him, which he stupidly drank from politeness.

 

Dan rubbed his eyes, trying to remember the girl's name. Carley? Amy? Carmilla? It was something soft sounding, it suited her singing voice perfectly, that's all he remembers. Dan gave up and pulled his phone from his pocket, quickly opening Facebook and scrolling through his 231 friends until he hoped a name would catch his eyes.

Carrie Hope Fletcher, that was her- the girl beside her must be Emma, judging from the check-in posted 12 minutes ago from Carrie. The line moved again, leaving Dan only 1 more person away from ordering. He put his phone back into the pocket of his skinny jeans and pulled up his bookbag from sliding down his shoulder. It was considerably lighter than usual as he decided not to bring his laptop today and just take notes into a cheap 120-paged filepad he'd bought in Tesco for £2.49. He noted that his bag was still slightly damp from yesterday. Phil had slipped on the ice trying to leave the library and grabbed onto the nearest object to steady himself, which worked perfectly in Phil's favour as he had grabbed onto Dan's arm in a vice-grip and shifted the motion of him nearly slipping onto Dan- which left Dan on his ass. He remembered Phil laughing at him and poking his tongue out of his mouth before taking Dan's bag off the ground to avoid it getting any more damp.

Dan smirked. Of course Phil would save the _laptop_ first. To be perfectly honest, Dan would've been annoyed if Phil had let the laptop get wet, so he supposed the black-haired boy knew him fairly well. Maybe he was a good judge of character too.

 

Dan didn't really know anything about Phil. After the e-mail they didn't really talk much, Dan found himself getting more work done in the several hours the spent there than if he had spent the entire day in his flat. Which was still cold enough for Dan to fear getting paper cuts from his rigid nipples, by the way. Maybe it was because he felt calmer. Dan wasn't an extrovert by any means, and in his teenage years he even considered going to the Doctor's for social anxiety, but somehow having the older boy with him calmed him. Whenever Dan found himself getting frustrated over not being able to construct his next paragraph, when his mind was buzzed completely full of different keys, definitions, legalisations, legislations, firms, explanations and varieties to the point where he couldn't even develop a proper sentence, he would stare at Phil for a few seconds.

 

Not in a creepy 12 year old 'I want harry styles to murder my vagina' kind of way, just looking at Phil type continuously, pausing occasionally to flip through a laminated textbook with dog-eared corners calmed him slightly. Phil never glared at his screen or fisted his hands into his eyes or even really made any negative actions towards the mass wall of text Dan could only assume he had wrote. In fact, after Dan had forced himself to look away from the 34-slide powerpoint his professor had sent the students, searching for a single citation before he picked up his laptop and smashed it to pieces where it may rest with the heavenly Father above for eternity- he noticed Phil even silently chuckling at his screen, before shaking his head and backspacing for a few seconds and continued typing with a soft smile. It's odd to think someone can enjoy a topic to the point of smiling whenever they have to write a thesis on why crabs are assholes or whatever Marine Biologists do, or maybe that's just Phil.

  
“Hello, what would you like today?” Dan snapped his eyes away from the counter where he was absent-mindedly drumming his fingers and shoved his hands into his pocket.

 

“Uh, a caramel macchiato please – oh, double shot, thanks.” Dan shuffled forward, to the place where he should have already been ready to order if he hadn't of let his mind lead astray. The lady tapped harshly at the till, punching in his order, Dan almost feared she would literally punch in his order, that'd be painful.

 

“That'll be £3.20, your name?”

 

Dan fished out his walled from his pocket, trying to find a 20p so he wouldn't have to break a twenty. “Dan. Here you go, oh and can you stamp my card please?” Dan smiled at her as he handed her over the money and loyaly card- perfect change and everything, he guessed working in a shop gave him empathy for people who worked tills.

 

She stamped his card, leaving a box in the middle blank. Dan sighed at it and put away the now completely un-aesthetically pleasing and asymmetric card back into his wallet and shoved it into his back pocket, pulling his jeans up and praying to the Gods of mercy that the unbearably creepy guy with hair that looked like it got assaulted by a candy floss machine who was stood behind him wasn't staring at his red chequered boxers. Not that Dan would be particularly angry at him for looking, red boxers peeking from black skinny jeans wasn't exactly subtle.

 

Dan moved away from the line to wait for his drink to be made. People are probably going to laugh at him if he just stands there. Dan looked around, most people are here with friends and he's just some loner in a Starbucks. Dan quickly pulled his phone from his pockets and opened up his messaging app to send someone, _anyone_ a text to make him seem less of a cripplingly awkward loser with no friends beyond PJ, who went to London to study media and film. Dan was sad to know that PJ would be so far away, but they kept in contact and Dan was immensely proud of his friend for getting accepted into such a high-rank school, not that he doubted he'd get in for a second.  


He hovered over PJ's name to shoot him a message until he saw the new contact just above him.

_Phil ^-^_

 

Dan re-read the last, and technically only text Phil sent him. They didn't text after they got back to their individual abodes at 10:40pm the night before, Dan was simply too exhausted, and the damp patch on the floral carpet of his bedroom from his soaked clothes proved just that. Maybe he should've put them in the washing machine, no doubt when he got back to the flat a small ice rink will have formed surrounding his damp clothes. Maybe he could pour water all over his flat and rent it out as an ice rink and earn enough money to move into a flat which won't let his body be found 2000 years in the future perfectly preserved in ice. Maybe Scientists will extract his DNA and re-birth him like they almost did with that woolly mammoth.

 

Jesus Christ he's going mental. Dan shook his head and gulped as he clicked on the empty message box. What should he say? Would a 'hey' be too casual? Should he ask him how his Thesis is going? Should he ask him if they were still on for coffee on Saturday? This was more stressful than he expected. Don't over think it, that never goes well, you always end up seeming uptight.

 

' _sorry if im bothering you statbucks is rjsut really full rn and I dont wannt o seem like a lonew with no feriends'_

 

Dan read his draft. What the fuck was that, hands? Do your job properly please, that's what you're there for. Dan tutted at his slightly shaky hands and re-typed the message, attempting to sound more literate than before.

 

_To  
Phil ^-^_

_'hey, sorry if you're busy. Honestly starbucks is just really packed rn and I don't want people to think im a weird loser with no friends so i'm texting you until my caramal machiatto is ready to be ingested'  
Sent 4:21pm_

 

Dan re-read the text after it had sent. His brown eyes moving quickly over the words over and over again. That text was so stupid, oh God Phil's going to hate him.  
Dan squeezed his eyes shut and brought his phone to his forehead and stood like that for several moments, then promptly realising he wasn't in his igloo-home and let out a long, dutiful sigh before setting his phone to vibrate and putting it in his back pocket, hoping the cold wouldn't numb his ass enough to prevent him feeling if Phil replied.

 

“Caramel Macciato for...Dean.”

 

Dan looked around for a few tentative seconds, ensuring that if he took this drink, someone by the name of Dean wasn't going to come up to him and accuse him of thieving his calories. As expected, no other man within a 12 mile radius ordered the same drink, and Dan picked it off the counter with a grace of “thank you” falling from his lips.

Dan pressed the warm cup into his hands as he side-stepped around tables and people, almost standing on the lead for a boy with remarkably wide shoulders' Macbook. He shot him an apology as he barely missed it, and continued out the door into the cold wind vortex of Manchester.

 

Honestly, Dan just wanted a Starbucks before he went home. He was absolutely exhausted. He could barely sleep last night, he hadn't made a friend since, well, PJ. Which was 6 years ago. Sure he's had a fair share of acquaintances, like Louise, who sent him more 'concerned mother' texts consisting of 300 questions packed in 3 sentences than his own mother. She also had the tendency to stalk his Twitter, but she gave him a fair share of advice and bought him a winter coat for him going to University. He hugged her and she cried onto his shoulder as he awkwardly patted her back and tried to ignore the mascara stains on his long-sleeved white t-shirt.

 

Or Charlie, who he'd bonded awkwardly with in English class over their matching enthusiasm about video games when they were meant to be discussing how supernatural themes had lead Macbeth to madness. Dan bites his lip as he walks in the direction of his flat, sipping at his drink from his left hand. He thinks he didn't do that essay, that was around the time the Wii came out. How could he have been expected to write about Macbeth?

 

Dan felt his ass vibrate. Now that was a first, and hopefully a last.

 

Dan tapped in his lock code for his phone and opened up the reply from Phil, biting back a smile as he read his name.

 

_From:_

_Phil ^-^_

_'Hey Dan!! It's fine I do the same thing :p its really awkward just standing there waiting for coffee it's actually awful. I'm really bored :( my flatmate left to go to his girlfriend's- i've been spending all day with Hazel but she kicked me out :'('_

_Received 4:24pm_

 

Dan stopped walking as he finished reading the text, receiving a overly flattering comfort from the teenagers behind him of “Fucking fag, can't even walk right.”  
He rolled his eyes and continued walking, letting the gaggle of walking Nike tracksuits with bleached quiffed hair surpass him. Maybe they were doing a flashmob. Dan hoped they were doing a flashmob and not willingly leaving the house in glaringly blue trackies. They looked like walking hyperlinks.

 

Dan looked back down at his phone, taking a long drink from his cooling beverage in thought. Hazel? Dan bit his lip as he contemplated. Probably a girlfriend. Of course she's his girlfriend, Dan mentally slapped himself. Phil's far too nice and gentleman like to be single. Dan supposes the way he acts and the things he likes are quite childish, which he figures people would say would be 'cute'. Not to mention he was unbearably selfless and kind, and also very odd.

 

Dan turned a corner and caught his foot on a empty shopping cart. The nearest Supermarket was at least 2 miles away. He admired their ambition but questioned their reasoning.

 

Phil also had quite big, innocent blue eyes- that seemed icy when he was squinting at him from under the table, but shone brightly with excitement whenever Phil got carried away or exicted at the snow. When he was working hard they were quite tranquil, the soft blue reminding him of the [zenith blue](http://images.myperfectcolor.com/repositories/images/colors/MPC00051674-2.jpg) his mum painted his little brother's room when he was born. Phil's eyes were too emotive and emotionally persuading than Dan was used to. With one look into Phil's eyes, Dan went from being aggravated to calm, or being discontented to giggling like a lunatic. They were truly hypnotising. If they're like that for soft and delicate emotions, what were his eyes like when he was feeling more intense emotions?

Dan tossed his empty drink into a bin, realising he should probably text Phil back before he seemed rude.

 

_To:  
Phil ^-^_

_'she kicked you out? Did you have a fight do I have to give her a stern talking to, philip? And I know how you feel, ive been dreading going home all day bc the heating in my shitty flat is cut. And im pretty sure the pipes are on their way out too :('_

_Sent: 4:37pm_

 

Dan was almost home now. The image of a furious Phil burned into his mind, it seemed wrong, to imagine Phil being angry. Snappy and frustrated, sure. But angry? No, Dan knew Phil wasn't the kind to get angry, hell he'd be surprised if he did anything but expel enough sunshine for Dan to be exposed to dangerous levels of UV rays and require screenings for skin cancer, not that he'd mind, Dan was sure Phil would convince the cancer to leave by being adorably friendly and over-talkative.

 

Lust. Now that's a fucking emotion that shows in the eyes. Your eyes darken and your pupils dilate. Dan shuddered and tried to bat away the images of Phil that intruded on his previously innocent thoughts. Dan knows he's not exactly a walking image of a typical English Heterosexual man but he's not gay, he's liked a few girls and made out with a couple. He almost went further with the girl from his sixth form. Mary-Anne – Dan thinks she went to Edinburgh to study Architecture, or maybe it was Journalism, she wasn't his girlfriend but he did fancy her. He remembers her hazel eyes and her freckled skin, with her black hair that curled and bounced whenever she moved.

 

Dan sighed into the air as he looked up into the grey sky. He knew they could have been something, but she's in Scotland now, and they haven't really talked much since. Dan shook his head. He wasn't sad about it, but it did give him a pang of discomfort. He always figured if it was meant to be, it would have been.

 

Although, he did crush embarrassingly hard on Evan Peters. Dan certainty wasn't gay, or even thought about liking boys, but he supposed if Evan Peters asked for his hand in marriage he'd rather break his legs than say no. Probably a bit drastic, but if he got to be carried everywhere by Evan Peters- fuck it- give him a bat, he'll break his own damn legs right now.

 

His ass vibrated. Dan pulled his phone out of his pocket as he entered his apartment building, shuddering when the usual semi-warm blast of air was absent upon entering.

 

_From:  
Phil ^-^_

_'no! Of course not you pickle :p she had to go to her evening class. Thats awful D: you can come over to mine right now!! i'll order pizza! We can play mario kart'_

_Recieved: 4:41pm_

 

 

Dan gawped at the text and almost fell up the stairs. He shook his head as he balanced himself on the banister. He can't intrude on Phil like that. That's just rude, although very, very tempting. He's had a long day, 8am lectures are not something he looked forward to every Wednesday.  


No! Dan walked up to his floor, his phone weighing a ton in his back pockets as he ascended to his floor. He pulled out his phone and began typing a reply while he turned into the corridor.

 

_To:_

_Phil ^-^_

_'Ahaha you're too kind, but I really dont want to intrude. I cant just drop by after only meeting you yester-'_

 

Dan met eyes with the girl with bright green hair who sometimes forgets to wear a shirt, who, fitting to her reputation, was shirtless and was shamelessly grinding against a short man with a thick ginger beard while he appeared to be teasing her nipple with his tongue. Beside his flat. The walls have been tainted.

 

The girl with bright green hair waved at him in greeting.

 

Dan wasn't one for exercise but he'll be damned if he has ever moved so fast out of a situation in his life. And he lit his curtain on fire once.

 

_To:  
Phil ^-^_

_'I'll be there in 10'_

_Sent: 4:43pm_

 

 

* * *

 

 

Dan arrived at what he hoped was Phil's apartment complex about 10 minutes later. Dan was relieved that he was smart enough to add Phil's addresses to his contact on his phone, otherwise he'd have to ring Phil for his address in the back of a taxi that smelt a bit mouldy.

His hands were sweating as he stared at the buzzer in front of him. All he had to do was press the buzzer, tell Phil he was coming, and that was that. Dan was a little bit overwhelmed at the situation. He had literally only met Phil yesterday because he kicked him in the face, and now he's going to his flat for pizza and to kick his ass at Mario Kart? Did 'stranger danger' teach him nothing? Even if Phil does kill him, it'd be a much more pleasant death than freezing to death and listening to the two brightly coloured humans have sex right against his living room wall.

 

Dan shuddered and pressed the buzzer, willing to do anything to remove the image from his mind. It rang for several moments, and he could only hope he got the right number.

 

“ _Hello?”_ A soothing Northern drawl greeted. Dan sighed in relief, thankful that it _was_ Phil rather than some elderly lady, because then he'd just be stuck in an unknown part of Manchester.

 

“Hi, it's er-it's Dan.” Dan squeezed his eyes shut and rested his head on the wall in embarrassment. How did he always sound so awkward. He's pretty sure his brain is just wired wrong.

 

“ _Dan! Yes, I'll buzz you up right now, I'm on the third floor – number 10”_ God you could hear the smile in his voice, Dan could physically feel the happiness from Phil seep into his pores and he wanted more. He wanted to feel happiness like he did yesterday because he had never laughed so hard in his life.

 

The door buzzed open, and Dan quickly stepped into the thankfully warm entrance, and began stepping up the steps. Phil's complex was far nicer than Dan's, and he suddenly felt self-conscious about his home. It really was awful, there's no way he can invite anyone, let alone _Phil_ into it.

 

Dan grimaced as he ascended the second flight of stairs and pulled up his jeans. He wasn't sure he even wanted to go back for a good century or two.

He tapped nervously on his thigh as he approached the final few steps and saw Phil's door. Number 10. That's it. Dan's breath caught in his throat as he approached it, his shoes slapping heavily onto the concrete flooring.

He stood in front of the oak wood door for a few seconds, attempting to raise the courage to knock when his eyes drifted to the area just above the black globe-shaped handle.

 

Was that a fucking cat sticker.

 

Dan shook his head and laughed, both at Phil's antics and at himself. Why was he so nervous to meet Phil, he was just as much as a massive nerd as Dan was, only in a slightly less conventional way. Dan raised his arm and knocked thrice on the door firmly.

 

The door opened almost instantly, causing Dan to blink in surprise and his heart leap into his chest with fear as he looked at Phil. Phil was wearing a t-shirt with a lion on it, and Dan couldn't help but think that it suited him perfectly. Dan smiled awkwardly when he reached Phil's face.

 

“Hey, Dan! I was pretty surprised to have you come over so quick, were you nearby or something?” Phil asked happily, stepping aside and letting Dan walk into the carpeted room.

Dan examined the hall, it was a narrow hallway, painted a light cream colour with off-white carpet. There were two doors on the right and an archway which he could see lead into the livingroom and kitchen on the left, and Dan assumed the door at the end of the hallway was the bathroom. It was a pretty standard University flat. Except for the mask of the Queen which was stuck to one of the bedroom doors, which he could make an educated guess was probably Phil's.

  
“Uh, no- not exactly.” Dan coughed slightly, looking at his feet. Phil frowned slightly at the answer, worry setting in.

 

“Did something happen? Do you have secret superhuman speed? Can you teleport, I'd prefer it if you could summon puppies on demand if I were to be completely honest with you, Dan.” Phil joked, nudging Dan's foot with his purple-socked one.

 

Dan looked at Phil's mismatched socks and smiled. “Yeah, I guess, if two people ravishing each other outside your flat counts as a superpower then yeah.”

 

Phil stared at him for a few moments in shock, his mouth hanging open and his eyes going almost comically wide.

“I'd offer you a drink, but all I have is Coke, water or tea.” Phil indicated for Dan to follow him into the kitchen by gently poking Dan's calf with his foot then turning around and walking off, Dan rolled his eyes and leaned against the door as Phil walked away, meaning to take off his shoes.

 

Phil's wearing different skinny jeans. Phil's got hips that sure as hell don't lie. They fit him very well, certainty a great make, he noticed they made Phil's ass look absolutely amazing, he wouldn't notice that unless they were good. Dan should ask Phil where he got them.

Dan continued to admire Phil's bottom until it left his sight, to which Dan finally nudged off his shoes and followed Phil into the kitchen- to see Phil sitting on the counter, swinging his legs which were making soft banging noises as they hit against the cupboards. Phil smiled at Dan as soon as he walked in, Dan instantly felt at home- Phil must be a natural host.

 

“I put the kettle on, I'm having coffee, you can have tea if you want.” Phil said, looking straight into Dan's eyes.

 

“Why? Am I not allowed coffee?” Dan smirked at Phil, teasing him. Phil scrunched his nose up at Dan and raised and eyebrow.

 

“You're too young to drink coffee at 5pm, you'll get addicted.”

 

Dan scoffed and leaned against the fridge as he crossed his arms mock-defiantly. “You're only like, 3 years older than me. Besides, what 20 year old man has cat stickers on his front door?”

 

Phil's eyebrows raised as he chuckled into his hands, eyes glinting and creasing at the sides. Dan couldn't help but stare at Phil when he laughed, he just seemed so genuine when he laughed.

 

“I didn't expect anyone to notice that! Wait till you see my room! There's stickers everywhere!” Phil extended his arms and spread them, his legs falling still as he explained

“I couldn't throw them out and Adam wouldn't let me put them in the living room or in here so I had to stick them all over my furniture.”

 

The kettle whistled, and Phil tore his eyes from Dan and jumped off the counter to make their drinks, just in time to avoid seeing Dan's mouth falling open and eyes blinking at the possible implications. Dan quickly realised what his face was doing and promptly put a stop to it.

“Dan, can you get the milk please?”

 

Dan made a humming noise and plucked the milk from inside the fridge and handed it to Phil, who thanked him with far too much sincerity for a jug of cow juice.

 

“Phil all I did was get the milk, not save your future wife from certain death.” Dan laughed, the word wife made his tongue feel heavy and his throat go numb. He supposes he just can't imagine Phil getting married, he's too young yet- even though he is older than Dan. Dan's just looking out for him, you don't want to devote your life to someone at this age, not when you have so much you can do.

 

Phil laughed. “I doubt that'll be anytime in the foreseeable future.” He laughed as he poured the milk into Dan's tea, the steam irritating his contact lenses slightly.

 

Dan noticed the slight edge to Phil's laugh, almost bitter. Maybe him and Hazel did have a fight, and Dan was just something to take Phil's mind off it. Dan slumped against the counter, leaning on one elbow as he watched Phil make their beverages, trying to keep his eyes on the drinks and not ghost over Phil's body.

 

“Why would that be? Are you implying I'm incapable of saving a damsel in distress?”

 

Dan watched as Phil's chest palpitated as he laughed. “No, it wasn't the saving part I didn't doubt Dan, I'm sure you'd be a fantastic superhero.”

 

“What part was it then?”

 

Phil paused slightly, accidently adding a bit too much milk to his coffee and squeaking in mild discontent.

 

“The wife part – now can you put that back in the fridge?” Phil asked handing Dan the milk, who nodded and tottered over to the fridge, mind buzzing with confusion. Surely Phil's girlfriend was practically praying for Phil to marry her? Who wouldn't be? Dan bit his lip, he figured this would be a pretty sensitive topic and knew he had to tiptoe around it carefully.

 

“Why not?” Dan inquired as he closed the fridge door softy.

 

Phil glanced at Dan before returning to putting sugar in his coffee, spilling it over the counters.

 

“I'd rather not marry a female, to be quite frank. Do you take sugar?” Phil replied.

 

“You're gay?” Dan gawked.

 

“Mhm, do you take sugar, Dan?” Phil repeated.

 

Dan could hear the nervousness in Phil's voice and Dan could tell Phil was nervous about telling him this. Phil was putting on a brave front, to seem sure of himself and Dan felt his heart pound in his chest. Someone once said that sometimes it was more noble to pretend to not see someone cry than it was to comfort them, and Dan was certain it applied here. Dan really wasn't sure what to do.

  
“N-no, no I don't.” Dan found himself rather breathless. He was thinking too hard to breathe it seemed.

 

Phil picked up his coffee and walked into the living room, the previous bounce from his step was gone and his shoulders seemed more slumped than they were before. Dan brought his thumb up to his mouth and bit at a hangnail. Surely Phil knew that Dan didn't care that he was gay? Hell, Dan wasn't even sure he was 100% straight yet. But then again, how could he know? It hadn't come up yesterday, and this isn't exactly something you share with someone the second day you meet them.

 

Dan sighed loudly and picked up his tea, which was in a Hello Kitty mug, which was ridiculously endearing and Dan wasn't sure how he could've expected anything less. Dan walked slowly into the living room, and opted to sit on the opposite side of the sofa to Phil rather than sitting on a chair. Phil must've been watching some home renovation show before Dan came in, they were discussing something about the authenticity of the 19th century brick wall in a bedroom. Dan preferred modern living.

 

Dan tore his eyes from the TV and glanced at Phil, who was staring into his coffee as if it held the secrets to the universe, and maybe in Phil's mind it did. Dan couldn't be sure with Phil, he never could and maybe that's why he enjoyed the boy's presence so much.

 

Dan stared at Phil for a few moments, he noticed how perfectly arched his eyebrows were, he must pluck them. He noticed moles and freckles dotted around his face, they were charming, not dirty or unappealing to Dan in the slightest like most people found them. Dan noticed how prominent the elder's Adam's apple was, if Phil was a singer he'd probably hit lower notes the best. All the boys in his school choir with protruding Adam's apples sang Baratone, Dan was a Soprano, apparently. Phil was very beautiful, Dan did notice that. He was beautiful inside and out and Dan knew that he'd be proud to be seen with Phil, he'd be proud to call Phil a friend, much like he had been with PJ.

 

Dan realized Phil definitely wasn't going to be the one who spoke first. Dan took a gulp of the British liquid-courage and set it on the coffee table, hoping Phil wouldn't tell him off for not using a coaster.

 

“It's okay, you know.” Dan said softly, but with certainty. Granted he was nervous, he didn't want to say the wrong thing and upset Phil, Phil was too lovely to be sad. Dan wiped his clammy hands on his jeans when Phil softly glanced into Dan's eyes for a second before staring at his coffee again.

 

Dan was about to speak when Phil took a breath and interrupted him.

“But that's easy for you to say.” Phil spoke softly. Not accusing Dan, nor talking down to him.

 

Dan opened his mouth to protest, as he sat crossed-legged on the sofa, mirroring Phil – but Phil was right. It was easy for him to say. Dan opted to say nothing, calculating his next sentence. It had to be right. He stared at Phil, who had set his coffee on the floor at the foot of the sofa and was in the process of adjusting himself so he was slightly closer to Dan.

 

As Phil began to speak their knees touched. “I've never even been on a date, did you know that?”

 

Dan had the sudden urge to put on pyjama bottoms, jeans were too uncomfortable. Dan's eyes widened and his eyes snapped to Phil's in shock.

 

“No fucking way. You're bullshitting me.” Dan exclaimed, his soft tone vanishing.

 

Phil raised an eyebrow and let out a laugh. “No I'm not! No one wants to date me.” He shrugged lightly, his eyes lingering on Dan's for a couple seconds.

 

Dan swung himself to face Phil completely and grabbed onto Phil's knees and jerked them slightly, to indicate Phil to follow, and he did.

 

“Phil I don't believe a word you're saying. Are you telling me not one boy has ever took you on a date?”

 

Phil smiled sadly, his eyes falling to look at Dan's hands, which were still on his knees. “No... I don't see why they would.”

 

Dan gasped loudly and frowned at Phil. His heart was beating with fury. How could people not see how absolutely wonderful Phil is? How could people not see how kind and selfless he is, how adorable and geeky, weird and genuine and funny Philip Michael Lester is?

Dan grabbed Phil's shoulders and stared at him, Phil's gaze sadly looking into Dan's own dark eyes, which were blazing with anger and bewilderment.

 

“Phil are you meaning to tell me, no man, has ever seen how nice and kind you are, how lovely and sweet, how weird and adorable, how utterly and completely excitable, seen your tongue poke out when you laugh or seen the way you hop your steps when you walk. Are you seriously telling me no man has ever even looked at how beautiful you are, and thought 'oh I wouldn't mind dating him'. Is that seriously what you're trying to tell me Phil?” Dan looked intently into Phil's eyes.

 

Phil shuddered under his gaze, Dan , moved his eyes to his own hands, which had loosened their grip on the black-haired boy's shoulders. He could hear his own blood pumping, he was getting really worked up. He couldn't understand how people didn't want to date Phil Lester.

 

Wait why is he _this_ shocked about people not dating Phil Lester?

 

Dan looked into Phil's eyes. Phil's eyes were shining with awe and, love. They were shining with love.

 

 _Dan_ wanted to date Phil Lester.

 

“Dan?” Phil breathed. “You're the only person who's ever...” Phil trailed off, and slowly lifted Dan's left hand and held it softly in his own, as if he was afraid to scare Dan off.

 

Dan swallowed the lump in his throat. His heart had never beat so fast before and his hand had never sent bolts of lightening to his heart like this before. He'd never felt like this before. This nervous and scared but yet, at the same time, safe and comfortable. He wasn't afraid to mess up with Phil, he wasn't afraid to lose Phil. He doesn't think he could if he tried.

 

Dan rubbed his thumb against the back of Phil's hand softly, not sure what to do next.

 

“Yeah...” Dan mumbled. He felt Phil shift on the sofa, and found him nervously shuffling towards him. Dan gulped when he felt Phil's thumb caress his cheek.

  
“Dan you're really pretty.”

 

Dan gave a breathy laugh. “So you've said.” Dan nervously licked his lips. Phil's eyes briefly shot to his mouth before meeting Dan's eyes.

 

Dan could feel his heart beat in his throat. He felt Phil's hand slowly move from his cheek backwards to his hair as he cupped his face with his left hand. Dan's breathing hitched when he saw Phil glance back down to his mouth.

 

Dan wanted to date Phil. Dan wanted Phil.

 

“Can I kiss you?” Phil breathed, his face inches away from Dan's as he moved in slowly.

 

Dan didn't answer until Phil stopped moving. Dan closed his eyes and felt Phil's breath ghost over his lips. His senses were on fire.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Phil's lips met Dan's. Dan had never felt anything like it. Dan's lips tingled as he felt Phil's lips tentatively meet his own. Dan moved his hand to cup Phil's neck, receiving a muffled noise of approval. Dan tasted coffee as Phil opened his mouth ever so slightly, and when Dan ran his tongue along Phil's bottom lip, Phil groaned and allowed Dan access.

 

Dan felt Phil's hand run softly from his face down to his hand. Dan held Phil's hand as they surrounded each other. Dan felt nothing but Phil. He could smell the faint smell of oak and coffee that Phil smelt of. He breathed in the sweet raspberry scent of Phil's shampoo and the strong smell of hairspray. Dan gently licked along the edge of Phil's tongue, and lapped softly at Phil's bottom lip before pressing a chaste kiss to the other man's lips and breaking apart, panting from nerves.

 

Phil pressed a small, lingering kiss on Dan's cheek, which set like fire into his skin. Dan slowly looked at Phil, not trying to hide his blush or disguise the way he could feel his heart in his throat.

 

“I think I want to take you on a date.”

 

Phil smiled at Dan's words.

 

“But you're still buying me a caramel macchiato.” Phil snorted in response and gave Dan a gentle push.

“Actually shut up.” Phil laughed softly.

 

Dan had never been particularly fond of British Winters, or the snow and ice that coincided with it. Dan thinks it's time to reconsider that.

 

Dan shifted on the sofa, his phone digging into his butt uncomfortably before a voice cut through the quiet air.

 

 _“Hallo Dan? Yeah it's Steve, your landlord. I'm just gonna leave you this voicemail because our pipes've frozen, so till they're fixed yer rent is only half. Rightio, bye.”_ Dan glared into the ceiling as Phil bit his lip trying not to laugh.

 

Dan thinks maybe it's not quite the time to reconsider that just yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
